The Book Of Flowers
Veskal Tried
"How about we fight now" Veskal suddenly said, making all eyes point to him
Amongst all the things he could think of, he wanted to fight. Any more?
I'm out of words
"Oh come. I used to fight with Zaphir, and that guy was really tough. That fight was like a warm-up you know"
"Son, you're lucky Ordelia was kind. If he fought you and was being serious earlier, you wouldn't even touch the ground" I replied
"We might have to rethink what you call me. I mean Vain, I'm 20 years old!"
...
"Son"
"Technically, he is indeed much older than you" Verdea interrupted, then chuckled
"156 and a half if you can remember. I'll be 157 in the seventh month"
"And it's the end of the fourth month" Ordelia said. "Summer should be here any minute, maybe on the first day of the fifth month, I hope"
"Why are we talking about climate and age now? I want to fight" Veskal interrupted
I want to answer no, but this kid is still energetic...
...
"If I can defeat you with just my feet, let's just say that the combat training is over" I said
"Legs?"
"The bottom line is, I'll just use my legs to fight against you, Veskal"
First moving up the river, I left Veskal sitting on his desk with the others
He slowly looked at the others in confusion. But the response she could get was Verdea shrugging, Remina brandishing her two thumbs a hint of zeal, and Ordelia who was just smiling sweetly
My friend also breathed
"That means he only uses his legs, huh...?" he said, not enthusiastic. "And I wish he would pull out his weapon, too..."
I reached the river first. Just waiting for him to get close as fast as he wanted, and we were both ready to fight. And it doesn't take long
We both stood face to face with each other. I was on the shadow side of the tree, and he was on the light side
Verdea and Remina who were curious about what would happen to the fight also tried to take a closer look. In order for them to sit, Ordelia began to ask for a tree to allow the roots to be occupied
And the two sat there—with Ordelia on the rock she sat with me earlier, ready to watch our fight
"Do I need to not get out of the gun as well...?" Veskal asked
"Whatever. If you are able"
I turned to the three people in the garden of Ordelia and waved
"Dead of this fight! Especially you, Remina!"
All right, I'm ready. What about Veskal?
"I've been"
...
...
...
...
...
The fight has already begun. It should have started
But none of us moved from our position...
"Why, Veskal?" I tried to challenge him
"Everyone knows that you'd rather stay in the fight" he replied. "And that is also reflected in your attitude of not hurting someone before they do something to you"
Smart kid...
"All right"
Hearing my words just now, Veskal was shocked. Especially when he saw me start putting up a horse
"How else do you want?"
I'd better attack once in a while
"The Moon Sonata, the third show..."
His instincts lit up hearing my sentence which he did not recognize. Spontaneously he pulled out his knife however-
"... Rabbit adventure"
A loud sound like a flash could be heard rumbling through the air. And at the next moment, the eyes of all the spectators could only find that Veskal suddenly floated to the other side of the river until it hit a tree
This time I was in his position. Only perched on one foot above the river water surface, and the body that leaned to the side because of it— seemed to have kicked something out
But what happened is certainly clear. I quickly darted towards Veskal, before kicking him with a very strong force. There was even a trace of my actions moving so fast that the river water had just regrouped to the middle after my feet came back down
What matters is not broken, right, the river?
All right let's see the state of the boy
...
He disappeared
"You're strong, too, huh...?"
But I know where he is
My right foot was raised into the air as high as possible and ready to be delivered. Just like I thought, there was a shadow darting towards my feet underwater
And so powerfully I smashed the ground in front of me until it cracked, so that the shadow began to waver and restore the form of Veskal that did not have time to reach me
I also immediately did the movement Sonata Moon again, by doing a back salto kick in the position so that right about Veskal right in front of me
That certainly makes Veskal ejected back. And since he wasn't in the shadows anymore, he wouldn't be able to use the technique
Determined not to lose, he pulled out his knife again and began to move forward towards me. I who was aware of his intention to reach the shadow of the tree was directly against him by doing a round kick
It was not enough to push him, but it was enough to stop him who immediately resisted the attack with both knives
"Obviously?"
"Well!"
"I'm wearing iron armor today. Sure you can hold it in if I kick you hard one more time?"
His mouth is bleeding. The next time I kick him, he won't wake up
He stopped our gunfight and took a leap back to give us some distance. The blood that came out was wiped
Hm~
His gaze was strong...
Alright
Let's do this dance again
Again with the same quick strike, I aimed at Veskal's stomach this time. But...
*tap!*
Uh-uh?
He managed to grab hold of my toe and then somehow...
Her body with as fast as the wind she threw into the air—make my feet as her pedestal. His movements were so shrewd, as if he was not boned, that I did not even expect the movement at all
He landed, and immediately tried to reach the shadow of the tree. I who had no pensive time also immediately took action, directly chasing after him with a slumped attack on the ground
But he jumped over my body before he could get hit, and it made me immediately use the other leg to catapult myself into the air and land— fully standing
I was right under the shadow of the tree, making Veskal stop immediately. But all that time, he immediately kicked me back so that it slammed in the river quite far
The fight has been too difficult for me. I decided to finish it off by holding Veskal's chest with my leg as soon as possible
So I tried to run towards him as fast as I could
But when I arrived near her, she suddenly woke up and almost scratched my chest. One more attack he launched by throwing one of his knives, but I avoided it selflessly by moving one step to the left side
Huge mistake. He did not have just 2 knives
...
...
...
He has 3...
...
That kid is very clever
The first knife he threw was only for a diversion to cover the second knife he threw together and close together so that it looked like a single knife. And because of the sheer shape of the knife, I was deceived
I only realized it when I heard the twang. But I'm too late to stop it. The first knife serves as a support solely to change the direction of the second knife fly. And as a result, he floated to the left, right through my eyes. The boy deliberately throws with the right paddle earlier, to achieve the success of the trick
It pierced my eyes, so I was surprised and let Veskal run into the shadows without me noticing
I laughed when I realized he was doing the trick to me. A trick that is usually done by Luna and Zaphir, suddenly can trick me
The boy learned a lot without me knowing
I plucked the knife out of my eye as Veskal continued to run towards the shadow of the tree. But after he got there and grinned, he was just startled by me waving at him
"I lost!"
My losing statement instantly made Verdea and Remina slack. No need to imagine the expression of Veskal
He was stunned for a moment with his mouth open, then-
"WHAT??!"
Then I made it clear with a lower hand wave, making Veskal understand
"I used my hand"
He was also silent about our rules and agreements. I'm just gonna use my feet in this fight, that's what it's all about
And that sentence immediately made a punch from Remina float into his head as Ordelia chuckled at it
"Yep! He won"
My voice that was suddenly right in front of the two of them instantly shocked them and fell backwards
"You guys managed to analyze the fight well?"
And as the two of them turned into comfortable sitting positions to think, Veskal also started to get closer to us
"Are you okay?" Ordelia asked him
"Little bit. Vainzel's kick was still making my head shake"
I don't know why you can still stand up straight in that condition
This Grandier family always gives me goosebumps. What are you guys made of?
"Aah!" Verdea then exclaimed. "You want to analyze your goals in the battle, right?" he asked later, I replied with a nod
"Because you just kicked him hard enough earlier, Veskal knew he wouldn't be able to win in a mere physical fight. That's why he tried to rely on the shadow technique of the Moon Elf clan to mess with your movements earlier
But you, on the other hand, don't allow him to touch any shadows for obvious reasons. Your mind collides so that you are cornered in each corner, and that gives room for new ideas
You were thinking about ending it soon. But it gave Veskal the chance to strike back. And by doing his plan in throwing 2 knives earlier, he managed to trick you because at a close-range angle, you will find it difficult to see if it is a trick"
"Because the closer the danger is to us, our mind will only focus on it and ignore other possibilities" Remina added. "This fight is like a mind game"
"That's right" I gave them compliments that made the two happy together
It's just...
"But that's not all I want to hear. There's more"
The two of them looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what I wanted
Huh...
Alright. This one I'm the only one explaining
"Fight is like hunting, Verdea, Remina" I said
"Hunting basically requires the ability to observe closely before attacking. The way the game moves, the places they used to go, the size, the weapons
Also, we must learn how to defeat them, the equipment we have to defeat them, and what to hunt for
Fighting is not that far either. You may not realize it when you're in a real fight, but your head will always be watching when things are going on"
Observe to avoid attacks. Search for blind spots to launch a counterattack. And most importantly, the right ability to take down an opponent
"In fact, I've seen a hunter engage in a fight with a hunting bear"
"Then, what happened to that hunter, Oberon?" Remina asked too
"Sadly he died from bleeding. I also had to choose to save the bear's life because it turned out that he had a child to protect"
"Heeh... That's so..." Verdea followed
"It doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for him. So, I buried him in that forest. Handing over his body to the village would only incite the anger of the people there to the bear"
The point is, I might have gone too far when covering the scene of the crime. It's been a few years since it happened in front of me, so I'm not sure if the hunter is still wanted or not
Maybe I should go for a walk and check out the female bear and her three cubs
...
My eyes turned in another direction
To one person who has not expressed an opinion
"Do you agree with my statement, Veskal?" I asked him a question too
"Uh... That's how" he answered
So stiff...
"But I learned one more thing today..."
Both of his arms he folded behind his head, and his eyes did not stare at us at all. A smile was engraved on his face, as if the experience he had gained today was as precious as gold
"I still have to try and learn again"
...
Huh...
I patted him on the shoulder 2 times before jumping back inside the Ordelia garden area. "Everyone still has to learn again" I said to him without looking back
...
"It seems like a good time to look for Zaphir"
Ughhhh...
"Don't bother him if he's busy, okay?" I warned Veskal that his choice was firm
And when he nodded, I turned to look at the one person who still had to help me solve a mess
"Cyrus may not be around, so we'd better get the job done, Ordelia..."
I'm limp? Sure do...
Ordelia smiled sweetly, but I knew she was a little upset at the thought of it. It's just, "At least you want to take responsibility", that's what he said
He immediately got up from his seat, then took my hand to lead the way to the former area of the fight between myself and Luna earlier
"It's better that Luna is still there" he said again
"I asked him to wait for you there. But it looks like it's been too long, too, so it's fair if-"
"It's better that Luna is still there"
"Ugh..."
...
...
...
"They're getting more friendly somehow" Verdea said, then let out a sigh
"You're talking like you're not happy" Remina insisted on him
"It's not like that. It's just..."
"Just?"
"... It's just that I'm afraid Ordelia took too much time with Vain..."
...
...
"You jealous? To Ordelia?" Veskal asked with a lethargic face
"And he's talking like we're going to die tomorrow"
Verdea also touched Remina's forehead for that one comment
"At least we're even" Verdea said
Veskal just shook his head at that moment. And since he had to leave, he started to turn around first
"Wait, Veskal" Verdea's voice suddenly called out to her until she had to turn her head back
He wakes up and helps Remina do the same. They both approached, right in front of Veskal to say Veskal
"We want to go see Zaphir" Verdea said
The offer left Veskal a little speechless, especially since Remina also nodded to confirm
No one gets hurt if they come, right?
"You've never been to the Moon Elf area either. Better prepare your eyes for a beautiful view"
Veskal walked first, leaving Verdea and Remina looking excited with each other because they were allowed to come along. They then followed Veskal by running so as not to miss far
"I'm sure he's hooked on the hunt because we're talking about it!"
"What, Veri?"
"Analysis of the fight. He always had a way of relating many things at once"
"That's why I admire him. Oberon Vainzel is the smartest person I've ever met"
"It's funny you say that, Remina. When he was with Verdea, Vain looked stupid because of his behavior. It still happens to this day"
"I'm not that bad anymore"
"Tell him that, and he'll argue"
"Verdea seems to be annoying. It seems like my first impression with her was never wrong"
"Who cares about your first impression???"
"It's definitely not a big boy"
"Vescal!!"
Their journey was accompanied by the sound of laughter
Three people who spend their time together. Three people whose ends will not be separated
Their journey is approaching a harsh terrain. They could still breathe at that moment, but the storm ahead was already waiting
Verdea was right when she felt their time was near. He's never wrong
He knew they were walking down the street that day...
What was in the darkness began to move
"Deploy this fear to all the people of Vitario. Kill Yael Tarasque for me, and bring their heads"
A cold hand, but the only one emitting his form in the room touched the two shoulders before him
"Ronald. Ruvia
Go and make a mess of your hearts"
"Understanding, the greatest"
